Legacies (Mercedes Lackey) - By Mercedes Lackey Page 0,6
a Legacy.”
A what? Spirit thought, but Loch clearly understood what that meant, since he stifled a gasp of surprise.
“What this means is that your parents, one or both of them, were also raised at Oakhurst. You might already be aware of that fact. If so, you have some idea of what Oakhurst will be like. But if you were not told, then all this is new information for you. And at this moment, I’m sure you’re thinking that they had been remarkably vague about why they had no brothers or sisters, why you had no grandparents.” Spirit’s resentment grew hotter: this woman, whoever she was, looked unbearably smug to her. “We won’t even begin to try to guess why your parent or parents kept this information from you. Perhaps it was a form of rebellion against what they felt was an extremely privileged upbringing. Whatever the cause, we at Oakhurst feel rather proprietary about our graduates. They might sever all ties with us, but we take our guardianship seriously, and keep careful track of their lives. Once they have children of their own, we contact them a single time, to arrange that, should the unthinkable happen, we will assume responsibility for their offspring. I am pleased to say this offer has never been rejected.”
Oh you are, are you? Spirit wanted to smack the expression right off Ms. TV Personality’s recorded face.
“We have no false modesty. Oakhurst graduates are the best of the best. They have the finest educations, and they are of excellent stock. Their children are no less.” Not just smug, but arrogant, Spirit decided. “You will be given the same education and opportunities. No matter what they become, an Oakhurst alumnus is born to lead.”
The television went blank again. Spirit stole a look at Loch. His expression was very thoughtful.
“Well,” he finally said. “That explains a lot.”
Spirit swallowed. She only wished she could agree.
TWO
Four hours was a long time to spend in a small space with just one other person. It was long enough for Spirit to decide that she liked Loch a lot. Sure, Loch obviously came from money, but it didn’t seem to have turned him into a spoiled brat. She found out that he’d been bounced around a bunch of private schools, but it wasn’t because he got into trouble, it was because for a while he was bullied a lot, and at the kind of schools he’d been going to, it was easier to take the kid being bullied out of the dorms and send him for a series of “counseling” sessions that accomplished exactly nothing rather than to blame anybody for anything. Each time that started, Loch’s father would yank him out of the school and find another one, and nothing really changed.
“It finally stopped when one of the physical culture teachers started teaching me parkour, and free-running, and free-climbing.” Loch smiled shyly. “I couldn’t fight back, but if they couldn’t catch me, they couldn’t hit me, and after a while there wasn’t anyone who could catch me.”
That was the second time Loch had used those terms, and Spirit knew she knew them from somewhere. Then she got it. A documentary about a bunch of guys who did things—for fun—that would give Spider-Man a run for his money. “Like in Jump London?” she asked. Loch nodded vigorously, looking pleased that she knew.
Once they started really talking, time passed faster for her than it had in months. There was a small pantry at one end of the plane—there was even a sink! Loch got thirsty and went to prowl through it, coming back with sodas and a covered (not wrapped) platter of sandwiches, and another platter of fruit and fancy cookies. Spirit nibbled absently while they talked, and Loch inhaled the food like every other guy she’d known. By the time the plane started descending, they pretty much had the major details of each other’s life stories. And she decided that aside from the money and the family thing, the two of them were a lot alike. They liked a lot of the same books, same music, same shows—disliked the same kinds of people and attitudes. And for most of the flight she’d been able to not think about having lost Mom and Dad and Phoenix.
She’d never particularly wondered about what Montana looked like, but as the plane descended, she quickly realized that she’d been wrong to think Indiana was the butt-end of the universe. This was the butt-end of the universe! No cities.